As the digital landscape continues to evolve, protecting student’s personally identifiable information has never been more important. From K-12 institutions to higher education campuses — network security is paramount to providing engaging, interactive and meaningful instruction to cohorts of digital natives.
Derek Manky, Fortinet’s global security strategist, shared with CNBC his insights on a cybersecurity crisis that continues to morph and expand globally. “Every minute, we are seeing about half a million attack attempts that are happening in cyber space.” Schools are not immune to such attacks.
When it comes to finding a solution to assist schools in their efforts to fight cyber crime, consider leveraging E-Rate dollars to help offset costs related to Next Generation Firewalls, Caching, Switching and Wireless solutions. Through our partnership with Fortinet, we are excited to provide our K-12 customers with E-Rate-eligible solutions to help increase the robust security requirements of 21st century digital learning environments.
K-12 Schools Face Full Slate Of Cybersecurity Threats
Data breaches, malware and DDoS attacks are a few of the cybersecurity challenges facing the K-12 arena. Personally identifiable information (PII) such as social security numbers, date of birth and test scores combine with a minimal layer of security to make schools an attractive target for hackers. Limited budgets and IT resource constraints have made it difficult for K-12 school districts to invest in the robust network security solutions and necessary current infrastructure to combat these threats.
The E-Rate program aims to help schools overcome budget and resource challenges. E-Rate-eligible security solutions helps schools to modernize wireless infrastructures, deploy next generation firewalls, improve switching environments and implement the caching solutions that are ever so important for online assessments.
Fortinet offers a full portfolio of E-Rate eligible solutions optimized for education
Fortinet’s next generation firewall (NGFW) is a natively integrated platform that provides a more efficient way to deliver end-to-end security throughout the network — simplifying wireless access security across physical, virtual and cloud deployments.
Independently validated by NSS Labs for security effectiveness, Fortinet’s NGFW integrates with other E-Rate eligible Fortinet solutions to form a comprehensive cybersecurity infrastructure. An added convenience for schools is the capability to manage all from a single pane of glass, saving IT resources and closing security gaps.
K-12 school districts benefit from E-Rate eligible solutions by:
- Reducing complexity with end-to-end consolidated network and wireless access security.
- Saving IT resources with centralized security management for endpoint, firewall, wireless and WAN connectivity.
- Providing comprehensive security across threat vectors with capabilities including IPS, web filtering, data loss prevention, anti-malware, VPN, application control and advanced threat protection.
- Optimizing value with the lowest cost per gigabit of firewall throughput, and a consolidated solution that delivers the Wi-Fi security schools need.
Inadequate security comes at a cost and schools need to take the necessary steps to secure data and protect students and staff. Funding a Fortinet security solution with E-rate dollars allows K-12 school districts to benefit from an enterprise class security infrastructure without breaking the bank.
As a partner of Fortinet and experts in K-12 IT security arena, we can help you to select and deploy a combination of E-Rate eligible solutions that are best for your environment. Contact us today.
